Any (small) business owners on here accept card payments? - advice needed!

[christopherwk]

Nowadays, it is getting more common for people to pay for their goods and services by debit/credit card, instead of cash, and is probably expected to rise with contactless technology becoming more common, also cheques are being phased out (my bank is not going to issue debit cards with a cheque guarantee in a few months time).

Fortunately, in the business I'm in, a large proportion of customers still pay by cash, but card payments are becoming more common, especially as the technology is there to take payments on the move.

I rang one company (Barclaycard - naturally, as I bank with Barclays), to find out more, about prices etc., and unsurprisingly it's high! (I'm only a one-man band!)

Can anyone offer any further advice, and other companies/banks to try?

I will need a mobile (GPRS) terminal, as payment will not be taken at a fixed address.

I also understand that I have to contact American Express, and many small business owners tend not to accept them, since I expect charges are expected to be higher!

However, although most people who have an American Express, will also have a Visa/Mastercard as well, those who use my service on a business trip, may only have an American Express company/corporate card and no other, so it's something I also need to think about.

Thanks!

 

[lxi]

I also understand that I have to contact American Express, and many small business owners tend not to accept them, since I expect charges are expected to be higher!

However, although most people who have an American Express, will also have a Visa/Mastercard as well, those who use my service on a business trip, may only have an American Express company/corporate card and no other, so it's something I also need to think about.

Thanks!

My business is at a fixed location, so we don't need the mobile aspect. re Amex - their charges were much higher that Visa / Mastercard, so we never accepted them. I did get some stuff through the post recently that (if I remember correctly) implied a percentage drop, but I binned it for the simple reason that in literally over 50,000 transactions, we have never had an "Amex or nothing" situation - most Amex users have them for the higher kickback but always seem to have a Visa/Mastercard as well, so not a single sale lost. At a guess, possibly 1 instance in every 1000 - 1500 transactions offered Amex. None of ours are corporate customers, so that might be a different ballgame.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Christopher - I have a small internet based business so have to accept cards. I found Barclaycard (despite the fact I banked with Barclays both privately and for business) truly unhelpful and went to Streamline instead, who gave me great service. The costs for merchant services are high, I use an internet terminal rather than a handheld one as I don't need to accept cards anywhere - I wonder if you can use it via smartphone.

I do take Amex, but ask yourself if you have ever lost business because of not being able to take cards, Amex too, and compare that with the cost of this, which adds up over the year. The only people who I know to live or die with Amex are corporate users unable to reclaim personal card usage (very limited and I suspect most would have corporate accounts) or Americans.

 

[bolide]

Cardsave

They come to you, sign you up, machine arrives about 10 days later. Decent rates

Nick Froome

 

[alanuk400]

I use this program, its ideal for our type of work.
TaxiPay credit card system for owner drivers
Upsides are:- It can accept American Express, the program is downloaded to your mobile phone so can be used anywhere, there is also a program for your computer so you can take payment in the office
Downsides are :- the maximum you can accept is £299, they charge 6.5%

Alan

 

[S207]

When I had a business we used Streamline. They were OK, but still quite expensive.

Joining the local chamber of commerce halved our interchange fee - this was very worthwhile.

I don't take card payments now but have joined the Federation of Small Businesses and using the free banking with the Co-op. Co-op have been a good service. They also have a mobile card service on top of the free banking - see llink

Mobile Card Payment Terminals - Federation of Small Businesses - FSB - UK small business support organisation

 

[jaymanek]

I initially joined with barclaycard, they messed me about, put me on a term where I wouldnt see the funds for 30 days... i told them to flush their unit down the lavatory.

Streamline were perfect, I had a machine within a day or two of ordering and funds into my account within 3 days.

However barclaycard came crawling back and offered me some good rates for debit cards so at the moment I have both! Use b/card for debit and streamline for credit.

Remember most businesses will charge for using credit cards, even small supermarkets are charging nowadays and most customers expect this so pay by debit.

there is no harm in getting amex too, just pass the charge on... I think they charge us something like 3%..

I would join the FSB above as you will get a fantastic rate through them...

 

[abecketts]

we use a mobile terminal, supplied by Chipandpinsolutions over in Bishops Stortford. We used them as the barclays terminal was vodafone only and reception here at the time was nil. Terminals are expensive we pay £115 a quarter to rent one plus merchant charges. They were around 650 to buy at the time, I guess they've reduced a bit.

Shop around, if you are part of a trade association that can help, try chamber of commerce or FSB (not the Russian one) they have some good deals.

Don't bother with Amex unless you really have to, I have not lost a sale yet and I think only 4 or 5 people had asked to pay that way and converting them to a debit card (which is the cheapest) was quite easy.

Paul

 

[christopherwk]

Many thanks for the replies, every single one has been helpful!

I rang Amex this afternoon and was pleasantly surprised at the rates. It looks the rates are "industry specific", so assumes the rate varies depending on your type of business. All I pay is a one off set up fee, and 2.85% of the transaction fee - compared to accepting business credit card payments with Barclaycard at 2.86%.

So it seems Barclays doesn't look too good, and Streamline is recommended.

Also had a look at using Cardsave and TaxiPay. TaxiPay sounds like a good idea, and simple to set up and use. Had a look at the FSB website and looks like a good idea to join, especially with free banking with Co-op. Lots to consider!

 

[alanuk400]

TaxiPay does not have any set up fee, so I have worked out that if you only have a couple of payments a month the % can be absorbed or passed on when you take payment

Alan

 

[Apial]

I'm with streamline. I pay 1.1p for debit and 1.1% for credit cards.

 

[christopherwk]

After much consideration, I've decided to go with Taxipay using their Chip and Pin terminal.

The terminal rental is cheaper and there isn't a minimum requirement for transactions, so if I only have one or two a month, there is no minimum charge. The set up fee is only £25 as well, as opposed to around £200 if I go with a merchant. Also I'll overcome the issue with American Express.

Thanks for everyone's input. It's much appreciated.

 

[jaymanek]

I'm with streamline. I pay 1.1p for debit and 1.1% for credit cards.

thats very cheap, what business are you in? We only paid less than that when we had our petrol station which of course is 90% card payment and high volumes.